MPs are voting later today on government plans to limit the increase in most benefits to one per cent. Labour say many working households would be affected. President Obama meets Afghan President Hamid Karzai today and talks expected to focus on US troop levels in the country after 2014. And also on the programme, we will have a listen to the first single from David Bowie in a decade.

Business news with Simon Jack on news that the economist Joseph Stiglitz has said in a recent speech at an event organised by the Reserve Bank of India that countries without independent central banks, such as India and China, performed better during the financial crisis.

0626 Sports news with Garry Richardson.

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The House of Commons will vote today on the government's proposal to increase most benefits to working age people by 1% - less than the rate of inflation. The Today programmes' Andrew Hosken reports after talking to people about benefits in Newmarket, and Peter Kellner, president of YouGov, outlines the theory behind the proposal.

0716 Hundreds of loyalists have picketed Belfast City Hall tonight as the council met for the first time since its controversial decision to limit the flying of the Union flag on the building. Councillor Maire Hendron explains that the demonstration in the city centre came after four successive nights of rioting in the east of the city linked to the flag dispute.

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It is David Bowie's 66th birthday and he has released a new single. John Wilson, presenter of Front Row and Mastertapes, explains that that is not something that Mr Bowie has done for over a decade.

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The film industry has had a strong few years - despite the recession. Simon Jack speaks to Philip Bowcock, the chief financial officer of Cineworld.

0726 Sports news with Garry Richardson.

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Network Rail have published a blue print for the next five years and the plans sets out in great detail how Network Rail will invest and expand the rail network. Sir David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive, outlines where the £37bn of spending will go.

0739 The paper review.

0742 The world's largest consumer electronics show opens today in Las Vegas. The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan Jones looks into the gadgets of the future from the show.

0747 Thought for the Day with Lord Singh, director of the Network of Sikh organisations.

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President Obama meets Afghan President Hamid Karzai today and talks are expected to focus on US troop levels in the country after 2014. Lucy Morgan Edwards, author of The Afghan Solution and former political advisor to the EU ambassador in Afghanistan, explains that there is no expectation the two will sign a bilateral security agreement.

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MPs are voting later today on government plans to limit the increase in most benefits to 1%. Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, says the 1% cap will save approximately £3.1bn billion by 2015, and Ian Duncan Smith secretary of state at the Department of Work and Pensions.

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Petula Clark has sold nearly seventy million records worldwide and is one of the most successful British female artists of all time. The BBC's Rebecca Jones reports that next month - at the age of 80 - Ms Clark is releasing an album called Lost in You, featuring new tracks and cover versions of songs by some of her favourite artists including Elvis Presley.

0824 Sports news with Garry Richardson.

0829 There has been another night of violence in East Belfast. BBC reporter Andrew Martin explains that more than ten petrol bombs were thrown, a lorry was hijacked and used to block a road, and the police were attacked with bricks and fireworks.

0834 A man in China sick of the hours his son spent playing computer games - hired some online assassins to bump off his character in the virtual world. Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman, explains why games like World of Warcraft are so addictive.

0838 Gene testing children could lead to better treatment for asthma sufferers according to new research carried out by scientists in Brighton and Dundee. Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay, chair of paediatric at the Royal Alexandra children's hospital, explains that gene testing children could lead to better treatment for asthma sufferers according to new research carried out by scientists in Brighton and Dundee.

0841 Business news with Simon Jack.

0844 Fast-moving bushfires are threatening homes in New South Wales and Tasmania as southern Australia endures some of the most dangerous fire conditions the region has ever seen. From Sydney, the BBC's Phil Mercer reports on the danger of the fires.

0851 The Cirque du Soleil opens a new show in London this week - which tells the story of The Innocent, a melancholy loner in search of a place in the world. Arthur Pedlar, professional clown and former president of the World Clown Association, explains that the show celebrates two traditions of the circus - acrobatics and the art of clowning.

0853 MPs will vote today on what would be, in effect, a cut in the welfare bill, an increase in working age benefits and tax credits by less than the rate of inflation. John Kay, economist and author, Sheila Lawlor, director of Politeia, discuss whether the real terms cuts are necessary.

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